The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project involves the development of a nanostructured electrode material for high energy and power density hybrid electrochemical capacitors also called ultracapacitors or supercapacitors. Symmetric electrochemical capacitors that consist of two identical electrodes currently utilize flammable, non-aqueous electrolytes to improve the energy density. Hybrid or assymetric configurations that utilize different electrodes result in significantly higher energy densities and can operate in aqueous rather than non-aqueous electrolytes. The objectives of the Phase II project are to optimize the material's synthesis, further characterize the material, perform electrochemical testing to evaluate the energy density, power density and cycle life of the material, optimize the electrode fabrication process and electrolyte composition, and develop a low-cost, large-scale manufacturing process to produce the material. The anticipated result of the project is the development of a new, commercially viable electrode material that enables hybrid electrochemical capacitors with improved energy density, lower cost, and improved safety over current technologies.
The development of low cost, high performance electrochemical capacitors has a substantial impact on the development of electric and hybrid vehicles, consumer and industrial electronics, and telecommunications devices. The broad impact of this technology is to enable the manufacturing of next generation electrochemical capacitors that will have higher energy densities, lower cost, and improved safety compared with current electrochemical capacitors. Hybrid electrochemical capacitors that have high energy densities as well as power densities result in improved performance power systems for numerous medium, high, and pulse-power applications. The ability of the hybrid ultracapacitor to operate in benign aqueous electrolytes reduces the cost of the device and has significant environmental and safety impacts, since current non-aqueous electrolytes are flammable and can emit toxic gases.
??? Project Title: Advanced Materials for High Energy Density Electrochemical Capacitors Award Number: 0750183 Electrochemical capacitors (ECs) (also called ultracapacitors or supercapacitors) provide a key technology to improve the performance and reliability of energy delivery systems. Electrochemical capacitors provide an energy and power solution that cannot be met with either conventional dielectric capacitors (low energy density) or conventional batteries (low power density, poor cycling performance). Specific advantages of ECs include the ability to be rapidly discharged/recharged at rates significantly faster than batteries, high energy efficiencies, and significantly longer cycle lives compared to current batteries. The development of improved ECs is critical to achieving cost-competitive hybrid electric vehicles, where the use of ECs has the potential to significantly extend battery lifetime and improve energy efficiency. Despite their potential, current ECs have lower energy densities compared with batteries and have high costs. Lynntech has developed an innovative, high performance, low-cost, metal oxide-carbon nanocomposite electrode material for hybrid electrochemical capacitors, demonstrated the material’s improved performance compared with existing technologies, and designed a low-cost manufacturing process. The improved performance is based on the electrochemical properties of the innovative electrode material which combines Faradic and double layer charge storage mechanisms within a single material, thus providing a new type of material with improved performance. Lynntech’s material provides advanced electrochemical capacitors which have higher power densities compared with current Li-ion and thermal batteries and higher energy densities than current electrochemical capacitors. In addition, Lynntech’s material has the potential to be manufactured at lower costs compared with current materials and can therefore reduce the cost of electrochemical capacitors, which is a significant factor currently limiting commercial markets. The technology represents potentially transformative research which extends the performance of energy storage/delivery systems beyond the state-of-the art and which can lower costs and therefore open up market opportunities. Lynntech is developing this technology for potential applications within hybrid and electric vehicles and energy storage systems for medium and high-power applications.
